Ola is a Nigerian photographer that is inspired by the Old Masters. He finds that there are endless opportunities in interpreting the Old Masters, and it gives him the ability to flex his abilities as a photographer. He likes to go to museums and galleries to look at old paintings for inspiration.
In December 2020, he created the image, Lucynder, when he decided that he wanted to do his interpretation of the Mona Lisa. He asked some of his creative friends to help him create the vision he had for it, and this cemented his style. Creating this piece helped him find his process and his style. He calls it painterly photographs. He wants the images to be photos that look like paintings but are still recognizable as photographs.
We discussed how the process of creating Lucynder helped him realize his vision and is now the method that he uses for his creations. The method starts with a concept, based on some historical image or idea, and that helps create the vision of how it will look. He then creates a mood board to visualize his concept and collaborates with some of his friends to make the image.
The biggest influence on his work is History.
His favorite artist is DaVinci, but I had to pry that out of him. He has lots of favorites!
His favorite color is Brown.
He is currently working on a new series about sidelines and sexuality in African Society. I pressed for more details, but he wasn’t telling us anymore. We cannot wait to see what he creates!
The message he wants people to get from his images is for folks to see themselves in them. That they are a reflection to see yourself.
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